Probably the most incandescent philosophical movement of the present time is Existentialism. The name
of this movement was injured by the faddists who
paraded under the name; however, the movement itself does not have its origin in a fad nor is its
significance exhausted within the walls of the Parisian
clubs. As a philosophical movement it derives its name
from the fact that it holds that existence precedes
essence. In this it opposes the classical tradition in
philosophy, and in our country it should receive a
boost from the attacks of pragmatism and instrumentalism along this same line. We
find that its influence is felt not only in philosophy but also in theology,
where it has been making itself felt the most in America up to the present. The movement appears to be
losing some of its strength in Europe, but it is just appearing in print in America, and because of its potential influence it is worthy of our consideration. Its
acceptance in Europe has been laid to the crisis mentality after the war (See e.g. Randall in
The Theology
of Paul Tillich, p. 159). It is not as likely to thrive
where the sense of crisis is not so strong; yet many
foremost American theologians are influenced by it and
of the American students studying abroad many are
bound to bring it across.

We shall not attempt to characterize this movement in any adequate way. We only refer the reader
to the short and penetrating article of Paul Tillich,
"Existentialism," Journal of the History of idem, Jan.
1944. Tillich says the movement got its impetus in the
reaction of Schelling, Kierkegaard, et. al., to the idealistic tradition, especially as it found its highly systematized form in Hegel, though it can also be traced
back to thinkers like B6hme.

That it is a reaction from idealism gives a clue to
the way it should be approached. The enthusiast who
plunges into the study of Kierkegaard along with the
rest is likely not to understand him well. Since it is
such a reaction phenomenon we believe that it can be
understood well only after a thorough study of Idealism, and especially
Hegellanism. Such a study is long
and difficult; but without it the Christian scholar is
likely to find himself rudderless. At the turn of the
century James Orr, e.g., utilized the idealistic philosophy, Hegel as mediated through Green. Now we are
not so inclined to do so, especially in our theoretical
work, though Christians still speak vaguely of Christianity as that which is concerned with "spiritual
values." There is a real danger that we shall be swept along by the general reaction to Idealism and uncritically accept many of the existentialist positions as they
come to us, though its ideas of freedom, authenticity,
etc., have a non-Christian character. What we need is
a careful and thorough study of this movement in its
various forms. In that encounter we should be stimulated by the richness and vitality of its thought.

Kierkegaard performed his literary work in near
obscurity. It was only when he was rediscovered in
this century that his name attracted wide attention.
Since that time his influence has been tremendous.
Especially four thinkers in this century who are
thought to be pre-eminently the philosophical exponents
of Existentialism.

Heidegger and Sartre are atheistic existentialists,
whose thought has been dubbed "une discourse sur
I 'absence de Dieu." Heidegger is well known for his
startling work, Sein und Zelt. 6th ed. Tubingen:
Neomanus Verlag, 1949. He has never completed this
work, either from an inability to carry out the program
he set for himself or from a change of mind. That there
is a change in Heidegger has been claimed on the basis
of his later works. Sartre's main work is 124tre et le niant. Paris: Librairie
Gallimard, 1943. This has been
the object of much puerile dilletantism, but it is certainly a strongly reasoned book. From the Christian
point of view the study of these existentialists can be
of value because their thought illustrates the extremes
to which the modern idea of human freedom leads.
Their studied attempts to eliminate God and anything
emanating from him and the resulting despair remind
us of the claim of James Orr that one who rejects the
Christ of the Scriptures is bound for despair. His
position might profitably be illustrated by a study of
Heidegger and Sartre in our time.

Not an atheist, at least in the usual sense of the term,
is Karl Jaspers, the massive Swiss existentialist thinker.
The -central ideas of his system are freedom, transcendence, and God. His two major works are:
Philosophic (2nd ed. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1948) and his huge Von der Wahrheit
(Munchen: R. Piper & Co. Verlag,
1947), the first volume of his philosophical logic. Just
recently his book, Der philosophische Glaube (Munchen:
R. Piper & Co. Verlag, 1948) was translated and appeared with the title, The Perennial Scope of Philosophy.
We also mention a treatment of the three central
concepts of Jasper's thought: Hartt, J. N., "God, Transcendence and Freedom in the Philosophy of Jaspers."
Review of Metaphysics, vol. 4, no. 2, Dec. 1950, pp.
247-258. From the Christian point of view an article
has just appeared on Jaspers' view of transcendence: Zuidema, S. U., "Jaspers idee van het
transcenderen." PhUosophia Reformata, 18th year, 1st quarter, 1953,
pp. 1-12. In keeping with a growing policy in Dutch
Christian writing this article is accompanied by a summary in English. For the understanding of Jaspers it
is said that a study of his work, Nietzsche: EinfUhrung
in das Verstiindnis seines Phflosophierens (Berlin und
I4eipzig: Walter de Gruyter, 1936) is of great help.

Still closer to the Christian camp is the philosopher,
Gabriel Marcel. He is a Catholic, though his existentialism has met with disfavor at the Vatican. His writings have been regarded as a helpful antidote to the
atheistic existentialism of Sartre. Of his works the Journal m6taphysique (Paris: Librairie
Gallimard,
1927) and his 9tre et avoir (Paris: Aubier, 1935) are
representative.

Of interest to the Christian is the volume of J. M. Spier, Christianity and Existentialism
Phdiadelphia:
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1953. This
work does not meet the need I mentioned before of a
thorough study of Existentialism; nevertheless, it is a
well written introduction to the movement from the
Christian point of view, and it should provide the reader
with good insights to use in his further study.

In this country we are influenced by Existentialism
largely through theology. Barth, Brunner, Niebuhr, Tillich, and Berdyaev are all deep thinkers of an existentialist stamp. It is not likely that the movement
will make much headway among us except in theology;
but its stimulus will be felt. Even because of its prominence in theology it is worthy of deep study. For the
Christian scientist existential thought is of interest
because any success it has must mean a reversal for
the. naturalism and positivism which so dominate the
American scene.